Prispevek osvetljuje, kako so avtorji v Sloveniji v preteklosti uveljavljenih knjig obravnavali učinkovitost pri delovanju. Ta pojem se je dejansko začel izčiščevati šele v zadnjih 25 letih. Razlikovati pa je treba učinkovitost kot načelo in učinkovitost kot značilnost ter različna merila učinkovitosti.

The paper gives insight into the views of the authors of the past Slovene professional literature concerning the efficiency of activities. The clarification of this concept only began in the last 25 years. There is a need to distinguish between the efficiency as a principle, the efficiency as a characteristic feature, and the various measures of efficiency.